Stalag Luft 3 (Air Force Officers) ~Air war statistics… -1,693,565 missions were flown -89% of those were considered effective -55% of the planes were lost in action -29,916 enemy aircraft were destroyed -94,565 Americans died in air combat 30,099 were killed in action 13,660 were wounded and evacuated 51,106 were MIA, POWs, evaders, and internees The Capture… ~ many men survived the destruction of their aircraft ~the last year of the war, German civilians were encouraged to “wreak their vengeance on captured soldiers indiscriminately” ~German military personnel tried to keep this from happening ~As soon as possible, after a soldier was captured they were sent to Dulag Luft to be interrogated for military information that could be valuable to the Germans ~New prisoners were kept in solitary confinement during interrogation ~After interrogated, the men were sent to a collecting camp ~Stalag Luft III was a POW camp for captured officers 100 miles southeast of Berlin ~the men who were POWs all: -volunteered to go to war as airmen -managed successfully to complete flight training -entered into combat flying in airplanes -survived an accident in the air -loved their country -loyal to each other The Germans… ~guards were old and uneducated ~guarding prisoners was regarded as a good assignment for the enlisted men; but the officers saw it as a bad assignment ~seemed to be a general feeling of mutual respect between guards and POWs The Food… ~feeding POWs was not a priority for the Germans ~International Red Cross shipped food parcels to POW camps to combat malnutrition ~the men would stash food for weeks to save up enough to celebrate special occasions such as the fourth of July (spoon of cocoa, lump of sugar, etc.) The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association)… ~provided library supplies (books), athletic equipment, musical instruments, and church-type supplies The Great Escape… ~March 1944 76 men got away through an escape tunnel ~triggered a tragically severe reaction from the Germans ~Hitler ordered 50 of the recaptured men to be shot, their ashes were returned to the camp and a monument was built, the monument is still maintained by the Polish people ~escape became more dangerous but men still tried it ~when it seemed obvious the end of the war was near, many men decided to wait to be freed The March… ~on January 27, 1945 at about 5 pm the men were told they had to leave the camp ~the men had to stand in six inch deep snow (and it was still coming down) and they waited until midnight to finally leave ~they had to walk hour after hour through the blackness of night as a blizzard swirled around them and temperatures near zero degrees ~at 2 am on January 29 they stopped walking and found shelter at a tile factory ~they stayed at the factory for 30 hours ~then they marched another 15.5 miles to get to the train that was for livestock ~50-60 men were put into the cars that were designed to hold 40 people, there was no room to sit ~they were stuck in the train for 3 days with no bathroom breaks…so when the men needed to go, they had to go where they stood and then stand in it for the rest of the trip ~32 men tried to escape during this ordeal…all were recaptured ~finally they arrived at Moosburg and were marched to Stalag VIIA Moosburg-Stalag VIIA… ~this was a nest of small compounds separated by barbed wire fences…it was a disaster! ~the camp was supposed to hold 14,000 prisoners but 130,000 POWs were held there ~500 men were crammed into a building that was supposed to hold 200 ~many men chose to sleep outside on the ground Liberation… ~April 29, 1945 the US Army arrived ~prisoners tried to find a safe place, they hugged the ground/crawled into concrete incinerators as bullets flew around them ~the Americans broke through and the prisoners went wild with excitement Going Home… ~the liberation was very emotional ~trauma, anxiety, hunger, and fellowship among the prisoners was not quickly forgotten
Stalag Luft 3 (Air Force Officers)
~Air war statistics…
-1,693,565 missions were flown
-89% of those were considered effective
-55% of the planes were lost in action
-29,916 enemy aircraft were destroyed
-94,565 Americans died in air combat
30,099 were killed in action
13,660 were wounded and evacuated
51,106 were MIA, POWs, evaders, and internees
The Capture…
~ many men survived the destruction of their aircraft
~the last year of the war, German civilians were encouraged to “wreak their vengeance on captured soldiers indiscriminately”
~German military personnel tried to keep this from happening
~As soon as possible, after a soldier was captured they were sent to Dulag Luft to be interrogated for military information that could be valuable to the Germans
~New prisoners were kept in solitary confinement during interrogation
~After interrogated, the men were sent to a collecting camp
~Stalag Luft III was a POW camp for captured officers 100 miles southeast of Berlin
~the men who were POWs all:
-volunteered to go to war as airmen
-managed successfully to complete flight training
-entered into combat flying in airplanes
-survived an accident in the air
-loved their country
-loyal to each other
The Germans…
~guards were old and uneducated
~guarding prisoners was regarded as a good assignment for the enlisted men; but the officers saw it as a bad assignment
~seemed to be a general feeling of mutual respect between guards and POWs
The Food…
~feeding POWs was not a priority for the Germans
~International Red Cross shipped food parcels to POW camps to combat malnutrition
~the men would stash food for weeks to save up enough to celebrate special occasions such as the fourth of July (spoon of cocoa, lump of sugar, etc.)
The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association)…
~provided library supplies (books), athletic equipment, musical instruments, and church-type supplies
The Great Escape…
~March 1944 76 men got away through an escape tunnel
~triggered a tragically severe reaction from the Germans
~Hitler ordered 50 of the recaptured men to be shot, their ashes were returned to the camp and a monument was built, the monument is still maintained by the Polish people
~escape became more dangerous but men still tried it
~when it seemed obvious the end of the war was near, many men decided to wait to be freed
The March…
~on January 27, 1945 at about 5 pm the men were told they had to leave the camp
~the men had to stand in six inch deep snow (and it was still coming down) and they waited until midnight to finally leave
~they had to walk hour after hour through the blackness of night as a blizzard swirled around them and temperatures near zero degrees
~at 2 am on January 29 they stopped walking and found shelter at a tile factory
~they stayed at the factory for 30 hours
~then they marched another 15.5 miles to get to the train that was for livestock
~50-60 men were put into the cars that were designed to hold 40 people, there was no room to sit
~they were stuck in the train for 3 days with no bathroom breaks…so when the men needed to go, they had to go where they stood and then stand in it for the rest of the trip
~32 men tried to escape during this ordeal…all were recaptured
~finally they arrived at Moosburg and were marched to Stalag VIIA
Moosburg-Stalag VIIA…
~this was a nest of small compounds separated by barbed wire fences…it was a disaster!
~the camp was supposed to hold 14,000 prisoners but 130,000 POWs were held there
~500 men were crammed into a building that was supposed to hold 200
~many men chose to sleep outside on the ground
Liberation…
~April 29, 1945 the US Army arrived
~prisoners tried to find a safe place, they hugged the ground/crawled into concrete incinerators as bullets flew around them
~the Americans broke through and the prisoners went wild with excitement
Going Home…
~the liberation was very emotional
~trauma, anxiety, hunger, and fellowship among the prisoners was not quickly forgotten